In this episode, Tammy Schamuhn and Tania Johnson tackle one of the most painful moments in parenting: when your child looks at you and says, “I hate you.”

Those words can sting, shock, and even shake your confidence as a parent. But Tammy and Tania explain why this moment is far less about hatred — and far more about big feelings, overwhelmed nervous systems, and developing brains that don’t yet have the skills to say what they truly mean.

You’ll learn what’s actually happening beneath those words, why kids often say this to the people they feel safest with, and how your response in that moment can either escalate the situation or help your child return to regulation.

In this conversation, we cover:

• why “I hate you” is often a sign of emotional overload, not disrespect

• how brain development limits kids’ ability to express complex feelings

• what not to say in the moment

• how to stay calm when you feel hurt or triggered

👀 Something Big Is Coming for Parents…

We’re launching The Parent Coach — and trust us, you’re going to want this in your back pocket. More details soon!

The 2026 ICP Parenting Summit is coming!

Join us March 16–19 for 35+ expert masterclasses and four interactive half-day workshops, featuring leading voices like Ross Greene, Laura Markham, Robert Melillo, Lawrence Cohen, Kim John Payne, and Jon Fogel. We’ll be diving into the topics parents need most: screens, discipline, anxiety, emotional regulation, neurodiversity, resilience, play, and more.

The summit is completely free, and VIP packages include lifetime access, toolkits, certificates, and a digital copy of The Parenting Handbook.

Click here to save your seat!

• how to repair and reconnect after the storm has passed

• ways to build emotional skills so these explosions happen less often

Tammy and Tania share compassionate, practical strategies that help parents lead with steadiness instead of shame or punishment. You’ll walk away understanding how to hold boundaries while still protecting your connection — even in the hardest moments.

If you’ve ever felt crushed, angry, or unsure what to do after hearing those words, this episode will help you see them differently and respond in a way that strengthens your relationship rather than strains it.

A must-listen for parents raising emotionally healthy, resilient kids.

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In this episode of The Child Psych Podcast, we’re joined by Devon Kuntzman, parenting educator, early childhood specialist, and advocate for developmentally informed, connection-based discipline.

Devon is best known for helping parents reframe toddler behavior—not as defiance or misbehavior, but as communication rooted in brain development, emotional growth, and a deep need for connection. With years of experience supporting families through the most intense and misunderstood years of early childhood, Devon brings clarity and compassion to moments that often leave parents feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, or unsure.

Together, we explore how our cultural definition of discipline often sets parents and toddlers up for struggle—and why traditional approaches like punishment, threats, or time-outs frequently backfire during the toddler years. Devon explains what’s actually happening in a toddler’s developing brain during meltdowns, refusal, and power struggles, and why expecting impulse control or emotional regulation from young children is both unrealistic and unfair.

Drawing from her book Transforming Toddlerhood , Devon helps parents understand why toddler behavior isn’t personal—and how shifting from control to connection can completely change the parenting experience. We talk about the critical difference between discipline and punishment, what toddlers truly learn when fear or control is used, and how parents can respond in ways that build emotional regulation, resilience, and long-term mental health.

Known for her relatable, shame-free approach, Devon empowers parents to trust themselves, regulate their own nervous systems, and move through toddlerhood with confidence rather than constant correction. This conversation is especially supportive for caregivers who want to raise emotionally healthy children without losing themselves in the process.

If you’ve ever wondered:

* Why doesn’t traditional discipline work with toddlers?

* What is my child actually trying to tell me through their behavior?

* How can I set limits without damaging our relationship?

This episode offers reassurance, insight, and a powerful reframe that many parents have been waiting for.

Devon's Book "Transforming Toddlerhood: How to Handle Tantrums, End Power Struggles, and Raise Resilient Kids---Without Losing Your Mind" --> https://a.co/9AGhuXk

Devon is a featured speaker at our 2026 Children's Mental Health and Parenting Summit. To register for this FREE event please visit: https://instituteofchildpsychology.com/summit-registration-spring-2026/

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In this heartfelt episode of The Child Psych Podcast, we’re joined by Her Royal Highness Princess Noor of Jordan—author, mother, and passionate advocate for raising emotionally healthy children through compassion, presence, and storytelling.

Princess Noor takes us behind the scenes of her meaningful children’s books, including Sometimes, Pandy’s Book of Thanks, and Whisper’s Journey, exploring why themes like emotional awareness, kindness, mindfulness, and gratitude are not “extras,” but foundational skills for childhood.

Together, we talk about how stories can help children name and move through big feelings, build emotional intelligence, and strengthen parent-child connection. Princess Noor also shares gentle, practical ways parents and educators can use storytelling as a tool for shared regulation—helping kids feel safe, understood, and supported during emotional moments.

We also explore how motherhood shaped her writing, how her Jordanian heritage influences the messages she shares, and what she hopes children will carry with them long after the book is closed: a deeper sense of self-worth, calm, and compassion.

This episode is a beautiful reminder that sometimes the most powerful emotional tools come in the form of a simple story—read together.

👀 Something Big Is Coming for Parents…

We’re launching The Parent Coach — and trust us, you’re going to want this in your back pocket. More details soon!

The 2026 ICP Parenting Summit is coming!

Join us March 16–19 for 35+ expert masterclasses and four interactive half-day workshops, featuring leading voices like Ross Greene, Laura Markham, Robert Melillo, Lawrence Cohen, Kim John Payne, and Jon Fogel. We’ll be diving into the topics parents need most: screens, discipline, anxiety, emotional regulation, neurodiversity, resilience, play, and more.

The summit is completely free, and VIP packages include lifetime access, toolkits, certificates, and a digital copy of The Parenting Handbook.

Click here to save your seat!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Child Psych Podcast, we’re joined by Alyssa Blask Campbell—educator, emotional-development expert, and author of the bestselling book Tiny Humans, Big Emotions. Alyssa invites us into the heart of her groundbreaking framework, the Collaborative Emotion Processing (CEP) method—a research-based approach designed to help parents and educators respond to children’s emotions with intention rather than reactivity.

Through this rich conversation, Alyssa explains what it truly means to process emotions collaboratively, starting with the adult’s ability to regulate their own nervous system. She shares how the CEP method reframes emotional moments not as crises to fix, but as opportunities for connection and co-regulation. Together, we explore how this framework helps both parents and teachers move beyond behaviour management and into deeper relational understanding—where curiosity, empathy, and attunement replace power struggles and frustration.

Alyssa’s insights offer a refreshing reminder that emotional intelligence begins with us. When adults pause, breathe, and reflect before reacting, they model the very skills children need to thrive. Her work bridges cutting-edge neuroscience with compassionate, practical tools that fit into everyday life—whether you’re navigating a toddler tantrum, a classroom meltdown, or the quiet undercurrent of stress in your own body.

Tune in for an inspiring and empowering conversation about what it means to raise and teach with emotional awareness, and how cultivating calm within ourselves is the most powerful gift we can give the children in our care.

Alyssa Blask Campbell, M.Ed., is an emotional development expert, teacher, parent, and the founder and CEO of Seed & Sew—a global platform dedicated to raising emotionally intelligent humans by supporting the adults who care for them. She holds a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education and is the creator of the Collaborative Emotion Processing (CEP) method, a research-based framework that helps parents and educators respond to children’s emotions with intention rather than reactivity.

Alyssa is also the host of the popular Voices of Your Village podcast and author of Tiny Humans, Big Emotions (HarperCollins), where she translates the science of emotional intelligence into practical, compassionate tools for everyday life. Her work has been featured in The Washington Post and other major outlets, and she has trained educators and families across the globe on how to build connection through co-regulation and nervous system awareness.

LInk to Alyssa's books: Tiny Humans, Big Emotions , and Big Kids, Bigger Feelings

Sensory Quiz: https://www.seedandsew.org/links

The Parent Coach:

We’re launching The Parent Coach — and trust us, you’re going to want this in your back pocket. More details soon!

The 2026 ICP Parenting Summit is coming!

Join us March 16–19 for 35+ expert masterclasses and four interactive half-day workshops, featuring leading voices like Ross Greene, Laura Markham, Robert Melillo, Lawrence Cohen, Kim John Payne, and Jon Fogel. We’ll be diving into the topics parents need most: screens, discipline, anxiety, emotional regulation, neurodiversity, resilience, play, and more.

The summit is completely free, and VIP packages include lifetime access, toolkits, certificates, and a digital copy of The Parenting Handbook.

Click here to save your seat!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whining can feel like nails on a chalkboard, especially when everyone is tired, stretched thin, or heading into (or out of) the holiday season. In this episode, Tania and Tammy unpack why kids whine, what’s happening beneath the behaviour, and how parents can respond in ways that reduce escalation and build connection.

With their signature blend of warmth, humour, and clinical insight, they explore the real reasons kids slip into that grating tone, how stress and dysregulation fuel it, and why some children are more prone to whining than others. You’ll walk away with simple, compassionate strategies you can use right away to support emotional regulation, set clear boundaries, and guide your child back to calm.

If whining has ever pushed your buttons (we’ve all been there!), this episode is for you.

👀 Something Big Is Coming for Parents…

We’re launching The Parent Coach — and trust us, you’re going to want this in your back pocket. More details soon!

The 2026 ICP Parenting Summit is coming!

Join us March 16–19 for 35+ expert masterclasses and four interactive half-day workshops, featuring leading voices like Ross Greene, Laura Markham, Robert Melillo, Lawrence Cohen, Kim John Payne, and Jon Fogel. We’ll be diving into the topics parents need most: screens, discipline, anxiety, emotional regulation, neurodiversity, resilience, play, and more.

The summit is completely free, and VIP packages include lifetime access, toolkits, certificates, and a digital copy of The Parenting Handbook.

Click here to save your seat!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the digital world our children grow up in, creating opportunities for learning and connection—but also ushering in complex new challenges for safety, attention, identity, and mental health. In this timely episode, we sit down with Dr. Scott Kollins, Chief Medical Officer at Aura and a nationally recognized expert in ADHD, digital health, and youth mental wellness.

Together, we explore how AI-driven platforms represent a significant evolution from earlier forms of digital media. Dr. Kollins explains how algorithmic personalization, generative content, and immersive engagement tools influence children’s attention patterns, behavior, and even neurological development. He highlights emerging concerns surrounding AI-generated characters and influencers designed to mimic friendship and connection—raising important considerations for social development, empathy, and identity formation in childhood.

The conversation also delves into the growing difficulty children face in distinguishing real from artificial experiences online, and how this blurring of reality can shape emotional regulation, perception, and worldview. Dr. Kollins discusses the mental health implications of AI systems that feel responsive or “alive” to young users, and what it means to parent in an era where digital platforms may seem to be constantly listening.

This episode offers an essential, research-grounded understanding of the digital landscape parents are navigating today, and provides guidance for supporting children’s well-being as technology continues to evolve at unprecedented speed.

For more information:

Join the Study: Click here

https://www.aura.com/

https://meetcircle.com/

The Parent Coach:

We’re launching The Parent Coach—your new go-to place for instant parenting support. Ask a question and get immediate guidance plus a three-minute expert video, all at your fingertips. No more endless scrolling or long courses.

Join now and become one of our first 1,000 early adopters to lock in a heavily discounted introductory price.

The 2026 ICP Parenting Summit is coming!

Join us March 16–19 for 35+ expert masterclasses and four interactive half-day workshops, featuring leading voices like Ross Greene, Laura Markham, Robert Melillo, Lawrence Cohen, Kim John Payne, and Jon Fogel. We’ll be diving into the topics parents need most: screens, discipline, anxiety, emotional regulation, neurodiversity, resilience, play, and more.

The summit is completely free, and VIP packages include lifetime access, toolkits, certificates, and a digital copy of The Parenting Handbook.

Click here to save your seat!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this insightful conversation, Tania sits down with The Danish Way of Parenting co-author Jessica Joelle Alexander to explore what Denmark — one of the happiest nations in the world — can teach us about raising healthy, grounded kids in a digital age.

Together they discuss how Danish families approach screens with balance, community values, and trust — focusing not on restriction, but on digital citizenship. Jessica shares practical ways parents can cultivate empathy, responsibility, and critical thinking through the use of Digital Citizen Cards, a tool that helps children learn to navigate online spaces with integrity and awareness.

This conversation offers a hopeful reframe: technology isn’t the enemy — disconnection is. By raising digital citizens, not digital consumers, parents can help kids thrive both online and offline.

To find out more about Raising Digital Citizens, click here

To purchase the conversation cards, click here

• 90+ courses on parenting and children's mental health
• Private community where you can feel supported
• Workbooks, parenting scripts, and printables
• Member-only Webinars
• Course Certificates for Continuing Education
• Access to our Certification Program
• Live Q & A Sessions for Parents & Professsionals
• Bi-Annual Parenting & Mental Health Conferences
• Downloadable Social Media Collection
• Robust Resource Library

Click here for more

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The holidays can be magical… and messy. In this episode, registered psychologists and co-founders of the Institute of Child Psychology, Tammy Schamuhn and Tania Johnson, sit down to talk honestly about the emotional roller coaster many parents face this time of year.

From financial pressure and overstimulation to family dynamics, grief, and the weight of traditions, Tammy and Tania unpack why this season can feel so overwhelming and what parents can do to stay grounded. You’ll learn practical tools for managing stress, setting realistic expectations, supporting sensitive kids, and creating moments of connection that matter more than the “perfect” holiday.

Whether you love Christmas, dread it, or feel a bit of both, this compassionate conversation will help you breathe a little easier, let go of guilt, and find your calm in the midst of the chaos.

Stay Tuned for ICP's exciting new news!

• 90+ courses on parenting and children's mental health
• Private community where you can feel supported
• Workbooks, parenting scripts, and printables
• Member-only Webinars
• Course Certificates for Continuing Education
• Access to our Certification Program
• Live Q & A Sessions for Parents & Professsionals
• Bi-Annual Parenting & Mental Health Conferences
• Downloadable Social Media Collection
• Robust Resource Library

Click here for more

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.